Prevention of Pregnancy

All programs should have the ability to provide pregnancy prophylaxis medications after a sexual assault. This medication should be considered time sensitive and should be administered at the exam site rather than referring the patient elsewhere for the medication. Many states have laws that require the provision of emergency contraception.

Hospital-based programs should be able to provide this medication easily, but community-based programs will need to procure medications to have onsite for administration and follow the pharmacy and emergency contraception laws of the state.

All patients should be tested for an existing pregnancy before emergency contraception is provided. It is important for the patient to know definitively if a pregnancy is preexisting or the result of the rape.